350 Kashmiri Pandits resign for killing Rahul Bhatt; LG has announced as SIT

Angry Kashmiri pundits staged rioting protests in several parts of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, and police used tear gas and baton charges to disperse them. E-Taiba terrorists in his office in the valley.

Protesters chanting slogans against Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and the administration, most of the government employees who were stationed in the valley and their relatives, demanded adequate security or relocation to Jammu. According to many reports, more than 350 employees in the Valley have submitted their resignations to LG Sinha because they do not feel safe.

An agitated administration urged the protesters to call off their protest and announced that the lieutenant governor had formed an SIT to investigate Bhat’s murder at the tehsil office in Chadura, Budgam district. Security forces claimed that two terrorists involved in the killing were shot dead in an encounter at Brar in Aragam area of ​​Bandipora district in north Kashmir on Friday.

The Sheikhpora camp in Budgam, central Kashmir, where Bhat was accommodated along with other government employees, was the center of protests as people marched on the airport road before being blocked by police.

A heavy group of police workers stopped the protesters, requested to disperse them, which started the clash, during which the security forces had to throw sticks and tear gas shells. No injuries were reported but some alleged photos of the injured during the police operation have been circulated on social media.

The protesters then staged a sit-in and chanted slogans against the Jammu and Kashmir administration, demanding that Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha come and assure them of their safety. However, the lieutenant governor was in Sopore at the time to attend a ceremony.

Protesters carried placards that read, “I want to be able to tell my children that I did not keep quiet”, and also displayed the wounds they received during the baton charge. They further claimed that four of them had been detained by the police. However, no official confirmation has been received in this regard.

Later in the evening, protesters claimed that the gates of the Shekhopora immigrant colony were locked from outside by police to prevent them from coming out.

In a 35-second video circulated on social media, dozens of Kashmiri Pandit protesters were seen gathering around a picture of a dead man at the main gate of the colony, with an equal number of policemen on the other side of the gate. Blocked.

“The DIG (Central Kashmir) removed us from the dharna on the assurance that the lieutenant governor would come to see us. But the promise was broken … LG didn’t come. Now they have locked us inside but how long will they keep us in cages, ”said one of the protesters.

The LG office tweeted that the lieutenant governor had met with Bhatt’s relatives and “assured the family of justice”.
Bhat, 35, was shot dead by two Lashkar-e-Taiba militants at his tehsil office in Chadura in Budgam district on Thursday.
Demonstrations were held in Baramulla, Kupwara (North Kashmir), Vesu, Mattan, Kazigund (South Kashmir), and various parts of Jammu, including Jagati Camp, where Kashmiri Pandit migrants have been given concrete accommodation since 2007.

In Jammu, Bhatt’s funeral witnessed a turbulent scene as BJP leaders, including its JK unit president Rabindra Raina, had to face the wrath of mourners. While visiting the crematorium in Jammu, they were harassed and harassed and the police had to intervene.

Hundreds of protesters blocked roads and set fire to tires in Jammu’s Muthi, Huzuribagh and Buntalab. They chanted slogans against Sinha and the BJP and demanded the removal of Kashmiri scholars from the valley.

Residents of Muthi Camp, led by its president Anil Van, staged a procession and blocked the road for hours. “The BJP is ruling the union territory through LG and every failure on LG’s side is theirs. And how long will we get coffin from home? Our sons and daughters joined the service of Kashmir in the national interest and in the service of Kashmir, ”Van said.

Home Minister Amit Shah has demanded in Parliament to start a rehabilitation plan. Since then, dozens of Hindus have been killed and four temples damaged. Our sons and daughters who are serving the people of Kashmir are in fear and panic. Is this a rehabilitation plan? “Asked Jagat Shibir leader Sunil Kumar. As protests continued during the day, it was announced in the evening that the lieutenant governor had formed a SIT to investigate Bhatt’s murder and his wife would be given a government job.

“It has been decided to form a special investigation team to investigate all aspects of the heinous terrorist attack. The SHO of the concerned police station has also been attached, ”Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha tweeted.
She added that the administration would bear the cost of her daughter’s education.

Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has appealed to the majority community to ensure the safety of Kashmiri scholars, with the mainstream political parties in the Union Territory reacting angrily to the protests. He even said that local religious leaders should be pressured to maintain brotherhood in the Valley in their Friday sermon.

The Mufti claimed that he was placed under house arrest to prevent him from visiting Budgam to show solidarity with the protesting Kashmiri scholars. “I wanted to go to Budgam to express my solidarity with the Kashmiri scholars protesting against the GOI’s failure to protect Kashmiri scholars. They have been placed under house arrest because Kashmiri Muslims and pundits sympathize with each other’s plight and do not fit in with their heinous sectarian narratives, “the PDP chief said.

Police officials, however, declined to comment on the Mufti’s claim. Later, in a video message, the Mufti called on the majority community in the Valley to stand by the minority. “We need to send a message to the whole country about the brotherhood of Jammu and Kashmir and its history that we are a secular state and a united people so that the government does not get a chance to defame Muslims,” ​​the Mufti said.
Omar Abdullah, vice-president of the National Conference (NC), said it was a shame that legitimate and fair protests were accompanied by heavy-handed response.

“This is not new to the people of Kashmir because every problem is like a nail in the coffin of all administrations. If the LG government cannot protect the KP, they have the right to protest, “he wrote on Twitter.

“Tourism is not normal; It is a barometer of economic activity. “Normality is the absence of fear, the absence of terrorism, the inability of militants to strike arbitrarily, the presence of democratic rule and whatever criteria you choose to use, Kashmir is far from normal today,” Abdullah said.

Condemning the killing of a policeman in Pulwama on Friday, the NC leader said targeted killings continue in the valley. “Rahul was in his office yesterday, Riaz Ahmed Thokar, an SPO of J&K police, at his own house today. Targeted killings continue. I cannot strongly condemn this murder. May Allah give Riaz a place in Paradise. ”

Bhat was cremated in Jammu on Friday amid protests by members of the Kashmiri Pandit community. His wife and daughter, who lived with him in the Sheikhpora immigrant colony in Budgam, were with the body when it came to Jammu from Kashmir.

His brother Sunny Buntalab lit the cheetah at the crematorium because the slogan of “Long live Rahul Bhatt” rented air. Members of the community, including Rahul Bhatt’s family, have accused the Centre’s BJP-led government of making “cannon fodder” for young Kashmiri Hindus in the name of rehabilitating the community. They further said that the incident shattered their dream of permanent rehabilitation in the valley.